Some Magical Evening
by iamhermionemalfoy
Summary: After the Yule Ball, Draco decides to wander off to the Astronomy Tower. To his surprise, he sees the last person he expected to be there. Crying. And looking a little... pretty. This story fits like a tee to Goblet of Fire's chapter about the Yule ball.


**Some Magical Evening**

By astrogirl23

* * *

A/n: I really miss D/Hr. :) BTW, this is my Christmas gift to you D/Hr fans. Enjoy! :)

Dislcaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters.

Tip: Try rereading GoF, especially the chapter about the Yule Ball. I think you'll be able to fit this one-shot somewhere after Ron and Hermione's screaming match at the common room. :)

* * *

"Goodnight Draco," Pansy fluttered her eyes at me, her lips pursing as though waiting for a kiss.

I gave an inward flinch at the thought of snogging her. Not that she was bad-looking or anything, but she just did not seem appealing that particular evening. Especially being clad in that... was what she was wearing even considered a dress? "Yeah, goodnight," I said vaguely, turning towards the direction of my quarters.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes when I felt Pansy tug the sleeve of my robes. "Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?" she simpered, fluttering her false eyelashes at me.

"Maybe if I imbibed on another couple brandy, yeah," I said bluntly, though it seemed that her brain was a whole lot blunter than my comment.

"What? You want to drink more?" she asked sweetly. "I got a stock of them in my room, want to come?"

I wish my sigh could have blown her somewhere far from my sight. "Pansy, go to sleep. We're both tired,"

"Then you'll let me sneak into your dormitories?" Damn if her eyes didn't light up with excitement. "We'll sleep together?"

Bloody hell, reasoning with this woman seemed like arguing with a doormat. Pretty useless.

"Excuse me, I have to go somewhere," I muttered, turning back to the doorway of the Slytherin common room.

"But it's after curfew! Won't you—" I didn't have a chance to hear the rest of her sentence as I walked on, farther and farther from the dungeons.

Now, where to go? Hmm. The Astronomy Tower, most probably. I wouldn't get bored there, not from the stories I keep overhearing from the upperclassmen. And if my hearing's quite sound, some of the couples I overheard spoke of a late night rendezvous at the aforementioned place. That should be interesting enough to entertain me.

However, to my utter disappointment, as I reached the tower, there were none of the lurid things the sixth years had been chattering about. All I saw was a lone figure by the balcony, wearing an oddly familiar periwinkle dress.

I took a few more steps toward the figure, a frown creeping on my face. There was only one person who had caught my attention earlier at the Yule Ball in that same dress robes.

But what the hell was a prissy, goody-two-shoes like Granger doing here in the Astronomy Tower at two in the morning?

I shouldn't really care, although curiosity crept up my system like liquid fire.

"Did Krum ditch you for your rendezvous?" I asked silkily, and she whipped around, more locks of curly brown hair falling from her collapsing coiffure. "Smart man,"

I felt a weird twisting in my stomach when I saw the tear tracks on her cheeks, and the red-tinged swollen eyes. I always thought seeing her cry would make me feel triumphant, but now, as we stared at each other, I felt… uncomfortable.

It would have been more comfortable watching Filch pole-dancing in a thong.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she spat out, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand like a little child.

"What are you doing here, Granger?" I asked back in a mild voice, knowing full well it would annoy her more.

She gave me a glare, then blew her nose on her hanky.

"Cat got your tongue?" I pressed with a grimace as I watched her honk more goo from her nose. "Or are you just being your good old disgusting self?"

She looked like she would throw her hanky at my face for a second, but she seemed to have changed her mind, stuffing the cloth into the pocket of her robes instead.

"Go away," she said in a muffled voice. "I'm not in the mood for another fight,"

"Oh, so your date with Krum did not go well? Good for him to come to his senses," I couldn't help but add the latter.

To my utter surprise, Granger did not reply with a retort. "The problem was with Ron, actually," she said, then gave a gasp. "Wait. Why am I even talking to you about this? I must have had too much rum punch…"

I shrugged, amusement tugging at the corners of my mouth. Granger seemed so set-off that I was actually beginning to enjoy the turn of our so-called conversation. "Why am I not surprised?" I answered. "That dim-witted beggar could reduce any sane man to tears,"

"Ron's not dim-witted! Just a little… lacklustre,"

"That's like saying that ugly is not the same as hideous,"

That made her smile a little. Not that I really wanted to notice, but she didn't look as terrible as I always imagined her to be. I'd die before I told anyone, but thought she looked just the tiniest bit… good tonight.

And I must repeat and emphasize, JUST FOR TONIGHT.

"But they are different things!" she said, with the familiar smirk she seemed to be copying from me lately. "Hideous holds a deeper meaning than ugly,"

"Explain," I demanded, earning a raised brow from her.

"Well… ugly is something on the moderate side… hideous seems a lot worse than being called ugly,"

"So it would hurt less if I only called you ugly?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing you would say can hurt me, Malfoy," she snapped, turning back to the balcony. "But to answer your question rhetorically, then yes,"

I edged nearer to her just to get her more riled, but she seemed bent on ignoring me. Hmm. I seem to be griming myself with her dirty mudblood skin for nothing. Her skin felt soft and smooth though, a stark contrast to her barb-like facade.

"What are you doing here?" she asked after a few moments of tense silence.

"I needed some distance from Pansy," I muttered, and she looked at me in surprise, as though she had not expected a proper answer from me.

"I see. I spotted the two of you a while ago. You didn't seem to be enjoying the ball too much," she commented.

"Oh, so you've been stalking me, Granger? Watching me grouse the night away at the ball?" I sneered, but a knot formed in my stomach at the thought of her close observation of my activities earlier. Had she really been watching me?

Granger gave a snort of sarcastic laughter. "You weren't too hard to spot, with Pansy wearing her frilly pink bed hangings as a desperate attempt of dressing herself up glued to your side all night,"

"I grudgingly agree with you on that one," I said seriously. "She looked like she borrowed her dress from the fat lady,"

Again, to my surprise, Granger burst out laughing at my remark. Hell, this must be some magical night. Me finding the mudblood attractive, She laughing at my jokes, Us actually having an almost normal conversation.

I peered at the sky suspiciously, but no soaring pigs were visible.

"Are you drunk, Malfoy?" she asked, a ghost of a smile still lingering on her lips.

"No. Why?"

She turned to face me and rested the side of her face on her arm, which was propped against the balcony.

"Well, for one thing, you and I are actually talking to each other without our wands at each other's throats. You haven't called me a mudblood yet. And I'm laughing at your jokes," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Must be something in the air," I shrugged nonchalantly, although my heart began to beat a little faster. This is bad. I am not supposed to be talking to her like this. I was not supposed to be standing so near her. And damn, I should not be secretly admiring her improved looks.

"The world must be ending," she murmured, her eyes slowly closing.

I watched as another errant lock of her hair fell from her bun, sliding smoothly against her pale, soft-looking neck. My mouth went dry all of a sudden, and I gave a nervous lick on my lips.

"What did you do to your hair?" I asked, hoping the topic would distract me from my unvoiced thoughts.

"Half a gallon of Sleakeazy's potion," she admitted without opening her eyes. "Took me about an hour to fix my hair, and it didn't get me anywhere,"

"What, did you expect that your tamer hair could get you to Krum's everlasting love?" I asked in disbelief.

Her eyes sprang open, and she gave me a glare that could have brought Filch to shame.

"No," was all she said, before turning away from me once more.

I was sorely disappointed with her reply. I expected something more challenging, just like the usual spats we usually have.

"Would it help if I told you that it could score you a night in my arms?"

Her gasp must have been heard by the entire school, I reckon. Then again, even I was shocked by my own words. Was my punch spiked with some love potion earlier? I honestly do not know I would say those words to her. Ever.

"You're disgusting, Malfoy," she said viciously, her crinkled nose mirroring her words. "I think you're stoned. Deeply stoned,"

"I'm beginning to think I am," I answered absent-mindedly. "Standing too close to a mudblood must have done serious damage to my brain,"

Granger gave a huge fake sigh. "Finally, you're saying something coherent,"

"I think you're the one who's stoned," I grumbled. "You would have hexed me on the spot for calling you mudblood if you weren't,"

"I didn't bring my wand with me," she said simply. Then her eyes widened. "Did you just say that I could score a night in your arms?" she asked in a shrill voice.

"What impressive listening skills you have! Potter and Weasley must be so proud," I answered sarcastically, turning my face away from her for the first time. I could feel blood rushing to my face, and I inwardly cursed. I never blush. Damn.

"Does that mean… that you're attracted to me?" she asked disbelievingly, waving her arms about like a madman.

"I…" for the first time in my life, I was thoroughly speechless. Trust it for her to be so damn straight. There was absolutely no weaselling out of her question. If I denied it, I would only look stupid. If I concur, I would spend my life living in shame.

"Are you?" she asked, more gently this time.

"You wish, Granger," I said, a little more harshly than I intended. I could feel her gaze on me, but still I refused to look at her.

"Liar," I cringed when I felt her move another step closer to me, close enough that I could feel her breath against my neck, and the softness of—my goodness, was that her chest?—against my arm.

My breath got caught up in my throat when her hand went up to my shoulder. She steered me around so that we were face to face.

"Don't get any weird ideas, Granger," my voice came out hoarse, pulling away from her touch. "I'll admit you look pretty tonight, but that doesn't change anything—you're still a mudblood and I would never be attracted to people below my station,"

That only garnered a raised brow from her. "Bigot," she whispered, her soft voice sending cursed shivers down my spine. Was it just me, or did her insult sound like an endearment?

Damn. This was getting weirder and weirder by the second. Granger would never whisper love words in my ear, and I would never find it so damned pleasing if she did.

"I'm leaving," I said hastily, taking another step backward.

"Goodnight," she said cheerfully. "And don't come back,"

I was already more than twenty steps away from her when realization hit me. That bitch! Seething in anger, I stomped back to where she was standing and yanked her around to face me.

She stared at me in open-mouthed surprise, her mouth forming a perfect pink little o.

"You tricked me," I growled, and she asked innocently, "Whatever did I do?"

"You knew I would leave if you did something out of the blue like—like your pathetic attempt of seducing me!"

"Seducing you?" she echoed. "You thought I was seducing you?"

"What else have you been trying to do for the past ten minutes? Practicing for a vow of chastity?"

"I was not seducing you!" Granger shot back hotly. "I was merely seeking some answers,"

"By rubbing your breasts against my arm and breathing down my neck?"

"Fine, that's what I was trying to do, happy now?"

Now that got me speechless for a few seconds the second time this night.

When I was able to speak, I murmured, "No,"

"I know. I mean—arrrgh! This night is just so odd! I must be dreaming," Granger covered her face with both hands, temporarily hiding her reaction from me.

"If this is a dream, I sure am taking too bloody long to wake up," I said. I knew this was my cue to leave. But strangely, my feet didn't seem inclined in moving.

My traitorous eyes also couldn't stop themselves from skimming over her periwinkle-clad figure.

Without taking off her hands from her face, she slumped down on the floor, leaning back against the hard stone wall.

"Aren't you going to leave me alone?" her muffled voice came from behind her hands.

Now feeling a tad bit annoyed, I dragged myself down in level with her and pried her hands from her face. Strangely she did not pull away from my touch, instead staring into my eyes, a clah of brown against grey. "Not until I've sated my immense curiosity, Granger," I replied smoothly, and she looked a little afraid.

That made me smile.

"C—curiosity about what?" she asked weakly, trying to remove my hands from her wrists.

"This."

Before she could do as much as bat an eyelash, my lips had touched hers, a mere brush, as light as a feather. I could feel her stiffen in surprise, and her mouth opened a little in a gasp.

Somehow, that simple act—the soft whoosh of air between our lips—the sweet smell of her breath engulfing me—had made me lean closer to her, to try and taste her—

To my extreme astonishment, I felt her hands make their way to the back of my head as the mating of our mouths deepened, like she wanted more. More.

At that moment, I couldn't think of anything, not even the wrongness of the situation, except that Hermione Granger felt and tasted right. Just perfect.

Tonight I would be forgetting what I am, what she is, what boundaries we were not supposed to be crossing, what consequences this kiss could have, everything that had suppressed us from being close in the first place.

Apparently, Granger seemed to be thinking the opposite. Abruptly she pulled away from me, her face flushed.

"Th—tha—that's totally wrong," she stammered, her eyes averted to her trembling hands. "I—I didn't mean to—that is, I—I really had no—" she swallowed, seeming at a loss with what to say.

As for me, I was still reeling from the impact of the kiss. I could not honestly believe that I just did that with Granger. And actually enjoyed it. Damn. She was right. It was totally wrong.

So why the fuck did it feel totally right?

A fine bead of perspiration had formed at my forehead at that thought. I needed to escape. Now.

"Not a word to anyone about this… incident, you hear me?" I asked in a slightly choked voice.

This time her eyes finally met mine. The chocolate brown irises looked surprised, confused and… aroused?

"Shit," I muttered. Granger's arousal should not be making me feel like gloating with victory. She's a mudblood for Merlin's sake! "Well, Granger? Not a word to anyone," randomly I wondered if the expressions in her eyes were mirrored in mine.

"Yes. Of course," she murmured. "So… was your curiosity satisfied, Malfoy?" she asked offhandedly, seeming to finally come to composure. Her cheeks were still flushed though.

"A little." I said before turning to leave, not daring to turn back and look at her one last time before we resume the normalcy of our lives in the morning.

* * *

A/n: Reviews would be lovely. :)


End file.
